


Painting

by skinandearth, zelda (skinandearth)



Series: Stucky Prompts [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Beta'd, Cuddling, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Painting, Past Torture, Podfic Available, Post CA:TWS, Spoilers for CA:TWS, Stucky - Freeform, Tiếng Việt | Vietnamese, Translation Available, Vietnamese Translation Available, mentions of HYDRA, sorta stucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 01:57:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2755295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skinandearth/pseuds/skinandearth, https://archiveofourown.org/users/skinandearth/pseuds/zelda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sent by the most amazing wifu in the universe. Bucky learns to paint. Spoilers for CA: TWS</p>
            </blockquote>





	Painting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cablesscutie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cablesscutie/gifts).
  * Translation into Tiếng Việt available: [Painting (translation)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3956926) by [StuckyShipper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StuckyShipper/pseuds/StuckyShipper)



> Beta'd by the most amazing human on this planet, @cablesscutie .

Bucky has nightmares. He screams, he thrashes, he cries (though he’ll never admit it), and it’s all Steve can do to calm him down after one of these episodes. He still has panic attacks, especially when someone comes in unannounced. Steve’s had to pry him out of the corner, and Bucky, as lean as he is, is _heavy_. Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Tony have tried _everything_ they can think of. But nothing works, and Bucky still wakes up every damn night screaming and crying, the memories of what Hydra put him through running rampant in his head, and it’s _just too much_. He fights Steve, remembering the cold metal chair and the mouthguard as Steve tries to keep him from biting his tongue or hurting himself, before giving up and allowing Steve to sit there and hold him. He cries in Steve’s arms, constantly apologizing, begging Steve and whoever else happens to be in the room to not punish him and to _please don’t put me back in the chair._

  


He worries. When Steve goes out, he’s pacing, eyebrows furrowed, chewing on the fingernails of his good hand (it’s hard to bite fingernails on a metal hand because a.) it’s metal and b.) there are no fingernails to bite), and just generally being a pain and also completely in the way of everything Natasha or Clint or Tony are trying to do.

  


Natasha thinks it’s loneliness, that he’s become dependent on Steve to keep him sane (which actually isn’t too far from the truth). Clint thinks it’s PTSD (which is most likely a huge part of everything.). Tony just thinks he’s bored (which means that he must constantly interact with Bucky to see if he wants to do anything.)

  


But Bucky just wants to see Steve.

  


So when Steve gets home, Bucky (as much as he usually doesn’t smile), is overjoyed (even though he never shows it). Steve will smile at Bucky, and hand him whatever he got at the store, and then Bucky or Natasha (if she’s in the room) will help with dinner and Tony will nonstop talk and Clint’ll just shake his head and smile. Sometimes Bruce and Nick join them, but more often than not they’re both busy with whatever work they have to do. Bruce joins them for lunch sometimes on Bucky’s good days, and he seems to be a good influence.  At the very least, he’s a much more calming presence than Tony.  He even lends Bucky some relaxation tips that he’s used to keep “the Big Guy” at bay. Those have helped a lot, so Bruce thinks he may be getting through to Bucky more than anyone else.

  


One of the biggest problems is that Bucky doesn’t like to go to sleep, mainly because of the nightmares. So it’s usually an hour long fight to get him into the shower, into his pyjamas, brush his teeth, comb his hair, and to finally relax and lay down and at least _try_ to sleep. Steve will sit with him for a few minutes to make sure he’s conked out, and then go back to his room and try to catch a few hours himself, before Bucky has a nightmare.

  


By now, it’s routine. Steve is no longer jolted out of his sleep, confused by the commotion across the hall.  He wakes up on his own, and sometimes he’s lying awake for a few minutes before he hears anything, but Bucky never makes it throught the night. Steve will wait a moment to make sure it’s not Bucky getting up to drink or eat (they’re still working on his sleep-wake patterns) and then he’ll walk across the hall, into Bucky’s room, and try to wake him up (which will usually result in some kind of bruise or even a black eye before Bucky calms down enough to recognize him.) Bucky will look up at Steve with those big blue eyes before completely breaking down. Steve will hold him as close as he can for as long as it takes, and Bucky will hug him back and cry into his shoulder. When Bucky’s finally calm enough, Steve will lay him back down in his bed and sit next to him, tuck both himself and Bucky in, and they’ll lay there and hold each other for the rest of the night.

  


No one ever asks Bucky what goes on in his nightmares, because they already know. The first nightmare Bucky had after getting back to Stark Towers, all he could say was Hydra and torture and _please don’t put me back in the chair_. So when Natasha shows up in the mornings, she looks at Steve and silently asks him how bad it was. If it was especially awful then she made a special breakfast.

  


Bucky likes eggs sunny-side up best.

  


Eventually Steve gets a theory on how to help. He goes out to the store one day and buys an iPod, an easel, drawing tablet, several blank canvases, twenty tubes of acrylic paint, and an assortment of paintbrushes. He tells everyone but Bucky his idea, and they agree to keep it a secret. So Nick comes over and Clint distracts Bucky by watching a movie with him, and the others set up the spare bedroom in Steve and Bucky’s apartment with the easel, a spare shelf for the paint and paintbrushes, the desk in the corner of the room with a computer and the drawing tablet and all of the pencils and pens and paper, the canvases in the corner, and finally the iPod and the earbuds that came with it. Steve and Natasha look around the room, smiling and nodding at each other as they leave the room. Bucky and Clint are still watching the movie, their eyes glued to the screen, so Steve heads to the kitchen with Natasha and starts to make dinner.

  


By the time they’ve finished, the movie is over, and Bucky is standing in the doorway, peeking in at Steve. Steve smiles, beckoning him in, and he walks over slowly, sitting at the table. Clint, Nick, Tony, and Bruce follow. When everyone has sat down and started to eat, Steve and Clint start to make faces at Tony, who laughs and flicks mashed potatoes at them. Natasha rolls her eyes and glances at Nick. Bucky smiles and chuckles softly, almost too softly to be heard, but Steve hears him and his grin grows wider.

  


After dinner, Steve takes Bucky’s human hand and smiles, before covering Bucky’s eyes with a cloth. Bucky freezes. Steve rubs his back with his free hand, gently urging him to walk forward. Bucky shakes slightly, clutching Steve’s hand tight. Steve murmurs to him softly as they walk to the spare room, pausing in the doorway and letting the cloth fall.

  


Steve smiles as Bucky looks around the room with wide eyes, stepping in cautiously. Bruce nudges him a little, prompting Bucky to go inside further.

  


“We thought this might help you relax. I know drawing helps me a lot, and you used to draw everyday.” Steve explains, “So, when you have a bad night or you need to relax, you can come in here. This is your space, no one has to ever set foot in here if you don’t want them to.”  Steve turns to meet Bucky’s eyes.  “Do you like it?”

  


“Stevie,” Bucky breathes. “T-thank you.”

  


Bucky rushes to Steve and hugs him tightly, Steve wrapping his arms around the other man’s torso and squeezing gently. When they break apart, Bucky walks over to the easel, grabbing some plates and putting a few colors of paint in them. When he starts painting, everyone but Steve leaves, coming back in with pictures to put on the walls. Bucky smiles.

  


“Thank you. Really.”

  


Natasha comes over to him, hugging him and kissing his forehead in a rare display of affection. “You’re welcome, Bucky. We’ve got your back, okay? I’m gonna leave these pictures on the desk, and you’re welcome to put them up anywhere you want to. And even if you don’t, they’re always here.”

  


He smiles up at her, and Steve and the other Avengers walk towards the door. When they look back, Bucky’s expression is one of complete concentration, eyebrows furrowed and hands moving steadily over the canvas. Bruce is the last to leave, looking in once more before closing the door gently.

  


Bucky finds the moment of the paintbrush on the canvas soothing. He likes the control of the brush and the paint on the canvas, making soft, delicate lines or hard, bold lines. He's surprisingly good at sketching too, and the first painting he makes, of Steve, looks so lifelike that it looks like it's _really Steve_ making eye contact and reaching out to you. He hangs it on one of the hooks Natasha put up.

  


Eventually he gets to the computer. He turns it on, hesitant at first, and plugs in the drawing tablet. Steve's already set up the computer, giving the desktop a cheesy background that has puppies in a basket. Bucky smiles at it.

  


He opens the first program he sees, something called GIMP. He frowns at it, confused, but opens a blank canvas and starts to draw. By the time he's finished, he's drawn, colored, and shaded an entire scene, depicting the Battle of New York. The scene shows the avengers standing in a line, their backs in shadow as they look Chitauri monsters overhead. Natasha has her knives drawn, crouched slightly, looking up. Clint stands next to her, bow drawn, aimed at the monster’s head. Thor has Mjolnir in his hand, a lightning bolt being summoned from its head. Steve has his shield in his hand, by his side so you can see the reflection of the lightning in its metal finish. Bruce is hulked out, hands balled into fists. Tony’s Iron Man suit is powered and charged, with Tony aiming his hand cannons right at the monster’s face.

  


When Steve comes back around, Bucky is still sitting at the desk, head on his arms, the printer holding out the image depicting the Battle of New York. Steve picks it up, smiling before hanging it on the wall. Bucky’s eyes blink open blearily, looking up at Steve as he shuts the laptop and takes Bucky’s hand. He smiles as Bucky leans on him, leading him back to his bedroom where he gets Bucky in his pyjamas and into bed.

  


When Steve turns to leave, Bucky grabs his hand, tugging gently and making Steve freeze.

  


“Stevie?” Bucky asks, soft, timid. “Will you stay?”

  


Steve turns, smiling. “Of course. Shove over, will ya?”

  


Bucky complies, moving slightly to make room for his friend. As soon as Steve lays down, Bucky cuddles up to him, wrapping his arms around Steve’s torso. Steve hugs him back, pulling the blankets over them as he turns the bedside light out.

  


“Good night,” Bucky pauses. “Punk.”

  


Steve smiles. “Sweet dreams, jerk.”

  


**Author's Note:**

> Am I the only one who thinks that Steve will always be 'punk' and Bucky will always be 'jerk'?
> 
> NOTE #2:
> 
> Vietnamese translation and English podfic available!!!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Painting](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3291671) by [cablesscutie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cablesscutie/pseuds/cablesscutie)




End file.
